Detours
by TheRavenclawNinja
Summary: When Jack and Ianto join the TARDIS team, anything could happen...like Weevils, Oscar Wilde, and buried heartache. TW/DW crossover. JackIanto and TenRose.


Weevil hunting was the most masculine thing Ianto had ever done, save his short tenure on the secondary school rugby team. He ran all over the city, gun in his pocket and hockey stick in his hand, hunting down vicious and rather cranky aliens like he was starring in a Men in Black sequel. He was often sweaty, covered in sticky Weevil blood and nearly bursting with adrenaline.

Tonight was no different. He was sprinting alongside Jack, in hot pursuit of an especially elusive Weevil, on a sedate and anonymous residential street.

Jack turned on a hairpin down a puddle-ridden alleyway. "Shortcut," he breathed.

Ianto followed, keeping up his pace, despite stepping ankle-deep in water every few feet. All of a sudden, Jack skidded to a halt, his breath ragged. Ianto slowed down but didn't stop.

"Jack what're you-" Then he saw what Jack stopped for. On the corner of the alley and the main street was an old-fashioned blue police box. Ianto remembered them dotting the city streets in his childhood Cardiff.

Jack ran towards the box before Ianto could express his confusion. When he reached the box, he ran his hand over the door almost tenderly. Then he knocked urgently.

"It's him, Ianto, I know it's him. It's gotta be," he said anxiously after no one answered.

"Who, sir?" Ianto asked calmly.

"My doctor."

Ianto was relieved it wasn't another one of his exes. Exes never boded well for Torchwood.

He watched Jack knock wildly for the next several minutes to no answer.

"He's here, I know it. I know he's here," Jack muttered, but he gave up knocking.

Ianto heard feet shuffling along the pavement. He craned his neck around Jack's shoulders. The hideous Weevil was stalking towards them. "Jack," he whispered, tying to alert the captain to the alien's presence.

The Weevil took off in a full run towards the duo. They backed up, but stood defensively, creating a barrier in the narrow alley. As the alien came closer, Ianto lifted his hockey stick and swung with full force.

The end of the stick slammed into the side of the Weevil's skull. A loud crack was heard, and the Weevil stumbled over and fell to the concrete. When Ianto withdrew the hockey stick, a sticky dark blood-like substance came oozing out of its head, and, at closer inspection, it had a large dent in its skull with several cracks of which more Weevil blood seeped out.

"Ew." Jack screwed up his face in disgust, but put a black bag over its lifeless head and hoisted it onto his shoulders.

The two men were silent on their walk back to the SUV, as if they were mourning the dead alien. And maybe they were. Jack always stiffened at death, a reminder that everyone else could leave him at any moment but he would always be there to mourn.

"I didn't mean to kill it," Ianto said guiltily as Jack tumbled the alien corpse into the trunk.

"Don't worry about it," the captain replied. "Owen's got enough." He shut the trunk.

"Ianto?" he prompted.

"Yeah?"

"You'll help me find him, right?"

"Owen?" Ianto asked, confused.

Jack smirked. "No. The Doctor."

_Whoever that was._

"Yeah, I'll help." If Ianto had learned one thing from dating Jack, it was that if Jack was serious enough to ask for help, you helped him.

Ianto drove back to the Hub, of course. Jack could not be trusted to drive reasonably when he was anxious.

"Who's the Doctor?" Ianto asked suddenly, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.

Jack grimaced. "Whatever files you've found on him are wrong. Torchwood used to be convinced he was a 'threat to the empire', but he's the most benevolent person I've ever met."

"Is he human?" he voiced softly.

"Time Lord," Jack sighed. "Ancient race of people with extraordinary power from the planet Galli-something. The Doctor's the last one."

This information was rather confusing to Ianto. Torchwood had nothing on anything even remotely close to "Time Lord".

"We're gonna find him, Ianto. If he's here, he needs me."

--

The Hub was, as expected, deserted. Immediately, Ianto began pulling up rift activity scans for the day: nothing. How could this "Doctor" come through undetected?

"Jack," Ianto yelled at his pensive boss. "There's been no rift activity today."

Jack snapped to attention. "He doesn't come through the rift. That police box is his time machine. The TARDIS, sports car of time travel. Can you work Toshiko's other sensors?"

"Yeah, but not the nuclear one. She's fixing it."

"How about a body heat scan? If a human form comes up with a low temperature, it's him. If there's a normal temp right by, it's definitely him. Martha's probably around, too."

Ianto ran a quick body heat scan through Toshiko's powerful sensors. Instantly, he noticed a distinctly human form with a temperature at least 30 degrees below normal body temperature near the docks. However, there was not a soul near it.

"Jack, I think I've got it. He's a good 30 degrees colder than normal temps. No one around him, though."

Jack's face lit up. "Where at?"

"The docks." Ianto grabbed Tosh's spare handheld from under her station and pulled up a scan identical to the one on the main monitor.

Jack looked as though he was a five-year-old on Christmas morning. "Let's go!" he said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Jack's mood distinctly improved Ianto's own. He bounded down the short staircase and followed Jack out of the vault.

--

The August moon was unnaturally bright that evening, setting a halo over the harbor. Ianto checked the handheld's screen again. The light blue figure had barely moved in the minutes since they had set out unto the brisk night.

Jack's greatcoat fluttered back as he faced the wind, scanning the docks for figures. He still had that sticky dark blood trailing down his back, nearly blending in with the navy wool of the coat.

Ianto's eye caught the outline of a tall figure at the end of an old mooring. "Jack," he whispered, pointing it out.

Ianto kept his distance as Jack trotted towards the shrouded figure. He could tell that the return of his doctor meant something a lot deeper than the return of John Hart. It was more like the return of Gray. Except without that whole psychopath thing.

He was however, curious enough to follow his boss towards his friend instead of stopping to allow some distance like he normally would. The Doctor didn't seem to notice the pair until Jack was two strides away from him.

"Doctor!" Jack said in that strange sing-song voice he used when he was ridiculously happy.

The tall messy-haired man turned around. He smiled, but his eyes told a different story; it looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"Jack!" he replied. "I didn't know I turned up in your timeline."

"The TARDIS knew you missed me," Jack laughed. "Where's Martha?"

The Doctor gave a sad smile. "She had to stay. She said she got in over her head."

Jack looked solemn for a moment, but quickly jumped back to his giddy persona he had now adopted. "So what're you in Cardiff for?"

"Oh, just had to refuel the TARDIS. Running low. Been having to burn up stars and move through some universes that weren't really meant to move through. Takes up a lot of energy, you know. Who's your friend there, Jack?" He acknowledged Ianto.

Jack pulled Ianto forward. "This is my boyfriend, Ianto."

Ianto was floored. He assumed Jack had never been into that "committed relationship" thing, and he certainly didn't expect to find himself in one now.

The Doctor shook his hand, but Jack cut in before they could exchange greetings.

"Traveling with anyone now?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Unless, of course, you're up for another tour of duty, captain."

Jack looked back at Ianto, then shook his head. "I can't Doctor. I've got more…important things here…with the team, you know."

"If you say so," the Doctor said, holding up his hands.

"One more question," Jack started. "The docks?"

The Doctor became flustered. "Ocean. I like the ocean. Atlantic Ocean's cold, though, I like the Pacific much better. Hawaii, Hawaii's nice. I took Rose to Hawaii once, before all the tourists. It was nice."

He stopped, seemingly to take a breath.

"Speaking of Rose," Jack said, capitalizing on his friend's silence. "Did you ever…"

"No," the Doctor said, hanging his head low. "I've burned up stars, I've been to universes so treacherous, so dangerous, just trying to find the answer. And can't find it."

Ianto noticed a glint on his cheek; a tear. Jack pulled the Doctor into a short hug, trying to offer support. Ianto didn't know anything about this Rose, but he couldn't help feeling sorry for the man.

"Well," the Doctor said, regaining his composure. "I'd best be off. Unless…"

Jack thought for a moment. "Can I bring Ianto?"

The Doctor grinned. "Why not?"

"Where am I going?" Ianto said warily.

The Doctor flung his arm around Ianto's shoulders and put his free arm up dramatically. "To see the universe, to travel through time and space, to rule the galaxy!"

Jack chuckled. "He's lying about that last bit."

"All right, a little," the Doctor said sheepishly. "But I mean the first two!"

The captain rolled his eyes. "What time is it, Ianto? I can't see my watch."

Ianto turned on Tosh's handheld. "4:30 am."

"Excellent time to get going!" the Doctor said excitedly.

"First of all, we"-Jack gestured to Ianto-"have got to get out stuff. Second, I'm not leaving my team in the dark again. Third, we can only go for a few days."

The Doctor pouted. "Fine."

"I'll go pack," Ianto said brightly as he walked away from the men.

"Meet me back at the Hub!" Jack yelled after him.

--

_What the hell am I doing?_ The thought pounded through Ianto's head as he pulled a very distinguished hard-sided suitcase out of the trunk of Torchwood's SUV. He had absolutely no idea where he was going to go, when he was going to go, or how he was going to get there, but Jack seemed sure of everything. He trusted Jack; he always had, so why would he question him now? Despite his absolute faith in his boss, both professionally and privately, Ianto was wary of the Captain and the Time Lord's plan.

The first thing Ianto noticed as he stepped through the vault was the Doctor's blue police box; it was hard not to miss. Its blue paint, though dulled with age, stood out against the dreary grays of the Hub. Ianto swore he could hear it hum contently.

Nearby, the Doctor was examining the Rift Manipulator. "This is awfully outdated, Jack ."

Jack smirked. "Not for the 21st century."

Ianto checked his watch. 5:34 am. _Excellent time for coffee_, he mused.

"Coffee, Jack?" he asked as he switched on the espresso machine.

"Of course." The captain gave a warm smile.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor tore his attention away from the Rift Manipulator and turned towards Jack.

"Does he make good coffee?"

Jack laughed. "The best coffee in the galaxy. And the neighboring galaxies, at that."

"Two sugars and a spot of milk, please," the Doctor said to Ianto, grinning.

--

After giving the Doctor a quick tour of the Hub (and learning that he thought Janet was sweet), Jack and the Doctor began to tinker around with the blue box--called the TARDIS, apparently.

The early appearance of Toshiko didn't surprise Ianto, but he still asked why she turned up at six am.

"This nuclear sensor doesn't fix itself, you know," she replied dutifully. "But there are more pressing questions here."

Ianto played along. "Like?"

"Why are you here so early?"

"Weevil hunting took a few detours."

"What's with the police box?"

"It's a time machine," Ianto said smugly.

"And who's that?" She pointed to the Doctor, who, along with Jack, had emerged from the TARDIS.

"I'm the Doctor," he said happily.

Jack winked. "Old friend."

Tosh seemed to think it was clever joke. "Pleased to meet you, Doctor. What brings you to Cardiff?"

"Well, the TARDIS needed refueling, and it sucks up energy from the Rift, but then I took a detour and Jack and Ianto turned up and now we've decided to go off traveling for a bit."

"Oh," Tosh mumbled absentmindedly as she began to work on her sensors.

The Doctor continued the conversation. "What're you working on?"

"Nuclear sensors. Not the sensors themselves, the program that checks for them. It's relatively simple. So simple, that I've just sorted it out right now."

The Doctor turned to Jack. "Is she a genius or something?"

"She's brilliant," Jack laughed. "She'd have a field day in the TARDIS."

Tosh's head spun around. "Can I have a look?"

--

It was now well after 8:00 and, to Jack's irritation, neither Gwen nor Owen had showed up. Ianto took up the task of calling them in. Predictably, Gwen was worried, and Owen was cranky.

Gwen came running into the Hub a half hour later, concerned that something was, yet again, wrong. Ianto had neglected to tell her why she was needed ASAP; she wouldn't have believed him. Owen, on the contrary, took his time, stumbling in a good hour and a quarter after Ianto called him. "Late night," he mumbled.

The two stragglers, were, understandably, confused by the appearance of the Doctor, whom they had known as the man who seemed to steal Jack at inopportune times for long periods. Nevertheless, they accepted Jack and Ianto's week-long vacation plans to travel in time and space with a humanoid alien in a police call box and assured Jack they would hold down the fort admirably.

Jack became awfully maternal in times like these, Ianto noted. He left specific instructions, emergency contacts, and various codes to certain crevices of the Hub.

The Doctor, despite being the center of the conversation, stayed uncharacteristically quiet, only offering goodbyes when it was time to leave.

--

Ianto had been wary of the TARDIS, unsure of exactly what was inside, but the metal interior and complex technology didn't surprise him. What he didn't see coming, however, was the vast network of corridors and rooms beyond the control room.

"Where should I put my things?" he asked discreetly as possible. It was awkward being the new passenger among the two veterans.

"Down the first hall, take a left at the fork, turn right three times, then fourth door on the left," the Doctor said quickly.

Ianto quickly committed the directions to memory and set off down the maze of hallways, until he opened a door he believed was the correct one.

He didn't know whose I was, but it definitely wasn't his. The room looked as though it had been lived in for years but had stayed untouched for about as long. Even in the dim light, Ianto could tell there was a thick layer of dust on everything.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Jack, his mouth open and eyes wide. "This is worse than I thought."

Jack closed the door silently. "Don't go in there."

Ianto couldn't help himself. "Why? Whose room was that?"

The captain sighed. "The Doctor used to travel with a girl; Rose. They were…close. He says she got trapped in a parallel universe. It looks like he's not taking it well. He hasn't touched her room."

"Oh," Ianto breathed, embarrassed by his mishap.

"Just…don't say anything to him about it. It's a sensitive subject."

"Yeah, of course."

Jack maneuvered Ianto down the hall. "_This_ is our room."

The word "our" made Ianto smile.

--

"And out first destination will be?" The Doctor messed with the TARDIS' controls, awaiting the coordinates.

"The Lotus Nebula," Jack blurted out.

The Doctor blushed. "No!"

"Oh, don't act like you haven't been there."

"Maybe once," the Time Lord replied defiantly.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Where do you want to go, Ianto?"

"I can go anywhere in time?"

The Doctor seemed to think this was funny. "Anywhere."

Immediately, Ianto thought of his wildest dream. "I want to meet Oscar Wilde."

"Smashing!" The Doctor said with glee."1895 it is, then!"

**A/N: **Thank you for reading, and please review. Keep an eye out for Jack and Ianto meet Oscar and Alfred!


End file.
